arlinns

Circe Azalea wasn’t entirely used to videogames… but that didn’t mean she wasn’t enjoying Dream-Online. Sure… everything was a grind. Everything needed to be leveled up. There wasn’t nearly enough in game currency to go around, no matter how many sidequests she did… but the one thing she had realised that she quite enjoyed about the game was the massive map and diverse areas. It was what drove her to grind and complete sidequests in the first place - she needed to level up and improve her gear in order to venture to the next location. She wanted to know what was out there. What sorts of places, what sorts of enemies… and what sorts of things lay hidden in those areas, too. It was in the forest, the first zone, that Circe had discovered the first artifact. It was a worn tablet, not entirely legible. But what she could make out… what she could make out was quite fascinating. She wasn’t sure if the tablet, hidden in a dark and humid cave within the forest, was actually worth anything in

Enchanting jewels for armour and trinkets was… almost like alchemy… right? It was more similar than actually forging a sword (that had taken Circe Azalea far too long, she thought). Ah, but, no… it, too, was a skill she would have to work on. Why was it so difficult to improve one’s gear? She was sick to death (ha ha!) of dying out in the combat areas. She wasn’t underleveled, but it didn’t much matter when your armour wasn’t quite up to snuff, apparently. What a bother. As per usual, the marketplace was… well, far outside of her budget. And she’d even been selling her potions and poultices! Even with those earnings - a little more meager than she had thought they might be, as it seemed everyone had had the idea to learn to craft things themselves - she couldn’t afford a good set of armour, already equipped with enchanted jewels and the like. Hit some rocks. Gather the materials. Carry them back to town. Sift through everything only to find you need to do it again. Repeat, ad nauseam

Alchemy was a skill in which Circe Azalea excelled. Blacksmithing and forging? Not so much. Of course… it was a video game, so that must mean that, really, anyone could do it. At the very least, anyone could make an attempt. After all, the shops which you needed to actually proceed with such a practice were open to everyone… Circe never turned down a challenge, especially when it came to creating things. Perhaps, when she was done with this game, she might even turn to blacksmithing in real life! It would be a useful skill to have, she thought. A little more self-reliance never hurt anyone! And she lived so far away, in her kingdom, from such shops… Ah, but those were thoughts for another time. Before she could even consider such things, she needed to figure out how to do this in game. She was… she was rather lacking when it came to weapons and armour. Her insistence on pursuing sidequests had leveled her, but her equipment hadn’t kept up. And like potions, it seemed, the most cost

Dream-Online, Circe Azalea had realised, was a place where she could absolutely get on top of the marketplace. The amount that potions were going for… well! It was absurd, really. In real life, she never would have charged such exorbitant fees for her potions! But in a game… well… She had been curious as to how similar alchemy in Dream-Online would be to real life, and “ALCHEMY FOR DUMMIES” had made it quite clear that there were many similarities and crossovers. The ingredients seemed similar, as well as the recipes themselves. It wasn’t quite as in depth, and was rather simplified in places, but… Circe could make this work easily. She prided herself on her alchemical skill. It was what, she thought, she had been born to do. Circe loved to grow and care for plants, and to explore their uses in potions and experiments. Salves, poultices, potions, poisons… whatever struck her fancy that day. It was what she lived for, that experimentation. It was exciting and fun… and she thought

The sign advertising the fashion competition was… not particularly subtle. Another side quest, Circe Azalea thought. This one, though… this one wasn’t searching for things or killing things. There was… creativity involved. Interesting. She couldn’t help but wonder just who she would be competing against - other players of this MMO, or NPCs? An interesting thought. But it didn’t matter. She was going to partake, of course. A quest was a quest, and she had told herself that she would give this Dream-Online game a fair shot. She wasn’t used to video games or questing… but this one seemed like it might be fun. Inside the tent there were all sorts of fabrics and accessories, everything one might need to craft their own apparel. How interesting! They were to make it from scratch, for themselves. While Circe wasn’t a practiced tailor, or anything of the like, she was rather used to creating things. All of her potions and experiments… they were done from scratch. And she rather enjoyed them

Was this… a sidequest? Yes, surely, it must be. Chasing after Treats in the little town she had just entered? Circe Azalea didn’t see how it could be anything else, despite the fact she was still largely unfamiliar with video games themselves. What was strange, really, was the way that folks within the game had been treating her… almost as if… almost as if she belonged there. How odd. But, nevertheless! She was going to have to help this poor Stygian gather up these treats, wasn’t she? Something about earning experience and all that… besides. Even outside of a video game, Circe Azalea was the sort of Stygian who had a hard time not lending a hand when she was needed or asked. “Lend me your basket?” the alchemist Stygian asked, and the small Stygian with tear filled eyes handed over the basket without any further prodding. Circe was rather unsure about the AI in this game so far… but then, she had just reached the town, hadn’t she? Taking the basket in gold clawed paws, Circe nodded.

Acaste had been drawn to the Hanto Magnata Tech Festival by her own curiosity. New and developing technology wasn’t, exactly, her forte. It wasn’t her specialty. She much preferred to learn about the natural world around her, as well as the history of that world. New tech often helped with that learning, but she did not depend on it. And yet… she couldn’t quite deny her curiosity. Perhaps she was simply getting the itch to travel again, and needed an excuse. Ilia, her kazi, seemed to feel the same way - if the manner in which she perched (well, curled up on, really) on Acaste’s shoulder as she prepared for her trip was any indication, anyway. Really, it didn’t matter how she ended up in Hanto Magnata. The point was quite simply that she was there. That was all that would matter to history, in the end. She had enjoyed herself, actually. There had been plenty of interesting booths and new tech, and the presentation itself… was fascinating. To see what they had managed to achieve with